Where It All Began and My Food Philosophy Part I

I’ve already posted once today but while packing my lunch for tomorrow it dawned on me that not only have I already posted a recipe, but I haven’t posted on the thing that sparked my whole blogging passion and truly changed my life.

For seven long and frustrating years I struggled with migraines. Crippling, multiple day, can’t get out of the bed, in so much pain that I literally puke (sorry if TMI) type of migraines. Along with chronic IBS that I’ve had my entire life. I tried pills, I tried exercise, I tried supplements and different vitamins and minerals sworn to bring relief. I went to a chiropractor and tested being both on and off of birth control. NOTHING worked. I was stuck at a point where I had three options, or so it seemed at the time. I could accept my life with migraines and just know that there would be weeks lost every month to them and red wine was out of the question. I could start a daily medication to prevent them that was more or less a blood pressure pill which was ill advised by my doctor due to my already natural low blood pressure. Or I could take the costly route of having some major tests like MRIs and CAT scans done to see if there was a bigger problem. None of them seemed promising or pleasant.

I can’t recall now how I first happened upon Oh She Glows, but I remember after reading one post I was fascinated. Being a self pronounced foodie it was utterly disturbing to me that there was a whole other world of food that I had never even heard of. Not to mention, this wonder food was capable of healing chronic illnesses, releasing unnecessary body weight, and restoring vitality to life. I became a blog (and food) addict. And I started researching everything I could find on whole, unprocessed, from the earth, organic, sustainable foods. And I dove head first into the blog world.

I asked Husband if he was willing to allow me to drastically change our diet. We had always eaten what most would consider “healthy”. We didn’t overeat, we cooked at home and avoided fast food or restaurant food, and we were regulars at our local gym. But after reading these blogs and doing some research I realized that although the food we ate might have been low in calories and we probably got the recommended daily serving of vegetables (albeit mostly from a can), it was missing so much of the vital components and purpose of food…nutrients. Food is supposed to be our fuel. Period. Not that there isn’t pleasure in a perfectly creamy creme brulee or the crisp crunch of a warm loaf of french bread smothered in butter, but it’s main reason for being is to provide us with the sustenance to live.

So, two weeks later we cleaned out our pantry, utilized the Earth Fare offering to trade in our pantry and fridge items chocked full of preservatives and chemicals in exchange for pure natural alternatives, and embarked on our journey to a life fueled by whole, mostly organic, mostly plant based foods.